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July 12, 2026
 

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HUMAN RIGHTS

Pro-democracy activist Lee Cheuk-yan raises his hands as he arrives at Lai Chi Kok Reception Center by prison van after being sentenced for unauthorized assembly, in Hong Kong on April 16, 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 22, 2026
Hong Kong begins national security trial of Tiananmen vigil group
Once legal in China-ruled Hong Kong, such public commemorations ​were hailed as a symbol of the city’s relative freedom compared to mainland China.
The perpetrator behind the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022 was motivated by his belief that Abe had ties with the controversial Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2026
Rescue for victims of religious parents still lacking in Japan
An expert emphasized the importance of continuing to review support systems for such victims, amid lackluster progress in aid and awareness activities.
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman in Dhaka on Dec. 31. Rahman says his party has no inclinations toward any particular country.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 21, 2026
How an Islamist party is gaining ground in Bangladesh, worrying moderates
Jamaat-e-Islami is reinventing itself ahead of parliamentary polls next month, following the August 2024 toppling of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai, founder of the Apple Daily, arrives at West Kowloon Courts in Hong Kong in October 2020 to face charges related to an alleged illegal vigil assembly commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2026
Fair trade: Jimmy Lai’s freedom for China’s very big U.K. Embassy
China will take over the Royal Mint building next to the historic Tower of London and spend over $1 billion building out its largest embassy in Europe.
Chilean President-elect Jose Antonio Kast presents the members of his Cabinet in Santiago on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2026
Chile president picks Pinochet lawyers as ministers of human rights and defense
Jose Antonio Kast will be sworn in on March 11 as the first far-right leader of Chile since the exit of dictator Augusto Pinochet, whose regime left deep scars on the nation.
In a draft proposal, the Justice Ministry also called for imposing criminal penalties on the use of disclosed evidence for purposes other than retrial proceedings, though lawyers have in the past been able to provide relief to falsely accused convicts by publicizing new evidence and appealing to the public.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 21, 2026
Japan’s retrial system will likely retain prosecutor appeals, draft proposal shows
The draft not banning public prosecutors from filing appeals comes despite strong calls to abolish the practice, which has been criticized for limiting retrial opportunities.
Pope Leo XIV meets with Donald Trump’s top lieutenants, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at the Vatican in May.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2026
A pope and a president offer competing Americanisms
In time, this papal voice of humanity’s better angels will resonate ever more broadly as the jingoism of this White House becomes more shrill.
Protesters block a road during demonstrations in Tehran on Jan. 8.
WORLD
Jan 19, 2026
‘My nightmare’: Iranians recount crackdown under internet blackout
A handful of videos have filtered out despite the internet blackout showing large demonstrations.
A protester with their face covered holds a poster during an anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest in front of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis on Saturday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jan 18, 2026
Americans increasingly reject immigration police methods
In every national poll, a majority condemns the actions of the immigration officer who shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
Puppies rest next to a Starlink terminal near the town of Lyman, in Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on the country in October 2022.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Jan 17, 2026
Musk’s Starlink faces high-profile security test in Iran crackdown
How SpaceX withstands Iranian attacks on its most lucrative line of business ​is expected to be closely watched by the U.S., China and intelligence agencies.
The Osaka District Court dismissed a request on Friday by three death-row inmates seeking to have executions by hanging banned.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 16, 2026
Osaka court dismisses request to ban executions by hanging
Three inmates, whose death sentences have been finalized, claimed that executions by hanging violate an international treaty that prohibits cruel punishments.
A demonstrator takes part in a protest outside the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Thursday.
WORLD
Jan 16, 2026
Trump threatens Insurrection Act as Minnesota protests grow
The 1807 law, which allows the president to use regular military troops on U.S. soil for domestic law enforcement, was last invoked during the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.
Jade, 16, holds a picture showing her father, Jose Urquia, in her home in El Rosario, El Salvador, on Dec. 3.
WORLD / Society
Jan 15, 2026
‘Silent crisis’: The generation of Salvadorans deprived of a father
Around 91,000 people, mostly young men, have been thrown into prison since 2022 on suspicions that they are gang members, some simply because they had tattoos.
A Ugandan police officer monitors the area while guarding ballot boxes and other electoral materials for dispatch at a polling station, during final preparations ahead of Uganda's 2026 general elections in Kampala on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2026
Uganda votes in fear amid internet blackout and police crackdown
President Yoweri Museveni, a former bush fighter steeped in the ideology of revolutionary violence, is expected to extend his 40-year rule.
Federal officers stand guard as protestors gather while ICE operates in a residential neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 14, 2026
More migrants are dying in ICE detention under Trump
Press releases from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement revealed that four people died in custody in the first few days of 2026.
Demonstrators march against increased immigration enforcement in Minneapolis on Saturday following outrage over the recent fatal ICE shooting in the city.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2026
Simple reforms could help prevent the next ICE shooting
Experts warn deploying thousands of undertrained federal agents who don’t coordinate with local authorities risks public safety.
A woman checks her phone on a hill in Tehran on Oct. 2, 2025. Iran was plunged into a nationwide internet blackout on Jan. 8.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 14, 2026
The countries wielding internet blackouts to muzzle dissent
Iran’s move to cut internet access during ongoing mass protests, along with Uganda’s Tuesday ahead of controversial elections, are just the latest examples of the tactic.
Justice Ministry's Legislative Council discusses a review of the retrial request system last month.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 13, 2026
Retrial requests filed by relatives face difficulties
Cases have been terminated or cut short with no prospects of reapplication because of the aging and death of petitioners.
Rohingya refugees cross the border into Bangladesh in 2017. The charge that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya Muslims went before the World Court on Monday, for three weeks of argument and testimony, in the first case of its kind, with implications for other genocide cases like the one pending against Israel.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 13, 2026
Myanmar made Rohingya lives a nightmare, Gambia says in genocide case
Gambia, a predominantly Muslim West African country, filed the case at the International Court of Justice in ‌2019, accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya.
Demonstrators gather outside the Iranian embassy during a rally in support of nationwide protests in Iran, in London on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 12, 2026
Trump says Iranians ‘want to negotiate’ after reports of hundreds killed in protests
For two weeks, Iran has been rocked by a protest movement that has swelled in spite of a crackdown rights groups warn has become a “massacre.”
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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